Veterans Day Ceremonies

The gray skies above Riverside Stadium paled in comparison to the dark cloud hovering over the UHV baseball team.

The Jaguars' woes deepened Friday as they were swept in a doubleheader by Fisher College.

The Falcons (8-7) won the first game 7-6 in eight innings and captured a 5-4 decision in the second game.

"Once a mistake is made, everyone hangs their head," said senior second baseman Ryan Suescun. "They don't pick each other up. Everyone stays down after that, and it's too late. By the time we pick ourselves up, the game is out of hand or over."

The formula was the same against an Association of Independent Institutions team the Jaguars (9-17) have traditionally had success against.

UHV fell into early deficits and rallied but fell short, and its odds of making the conference tournament grew longer.

"We've been chasing teams all year long," said UHV coach Terry Puhl. "We've always been chasing because we give up defensive lapses, and we get two, three runs scored against us when they really shouldn't have any. They have absolutely killed us this year. That has to change."

UHV sent senior Cory Carter and junior Orlando Quiroga to the mound. But Carter surrendered six runs - only two of which were earned - before leaving in the fourth inning with an undetermined injury.

Quiroga gave up five runs in four innings before settling down and pitching into the seventh.

"They've got to pitch better," Puhl said. "They have in the past. I'm not saying they were complete off days, but Carter actually hurt himself. Orlando has pitched overall not bad but not sharp enough to win."

The Jaguars scored two runs in the seventh inning to tie the first game, but Fisher College started the eighth with a triple by Victor Lebron, who scored on a ground out.

Dylan Blaha's three-run home run in the sixth pulled UHV within a run in the second game, but the Jaguars left runners at second and third to end the inning.

"We don't really have great approaches at the plate right now," Suescun said. "We're not waiting on a good pitch to hit. There's not enough clutch hitting."

The teams return to Riverside Stadium for a doubleheader Saturday starting at 3 p.m., and the Jaguars understand what's at stake.

"These games are especially critical," said Suescun, who was 3 for 7 in the two games. "As many conference wins as we can get are important. We're just struggling right now."